Mechanical shovel for narrow underground galleries



July 28, 1953 P. GARNIER 2,646,901

MECHANICAL SHOVEL FOR NARROW UNDERGROUND GALLERIES Filed April 13, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR: 241/1 m/v/m BY MW; flank! ATTORNEYS July 28, I953 P. GARNIER 2,646,901

MECHANICAL SHOVEL FOR NARRow UNDERGROUND GALLERIES 7 Filed April 15, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V E NTO R I 23401 GAR/V/[R ATTORNEYS Patented July 28, 1953 MECHANICAL SHOVEL FOR NARROW UNDERGROUND GALLERIES Paul Garnier, Lyon, France, assignor to Societe Pinguely, Ville-Gozet, Paris, France, a societe anonyme of France Application April 13, 1950, Serial No. 155,631 In France April 20, 1949 2 Claims. (Cl. 21490) There existvarious types of loaders for operation in underground galleries which allow the speedy filling of lorries, trams or trucks.

Certain of. these loaders move over rails and they carry at their front ends a sort of shovel that may engage the heap of material to be taken up during the movement of the machine over its track.

Other loaders are mounted on Caterpillars which remain in principle stationary during operation. Theseloaders must in this case be provided at their front ends with mechanical means for shifting the material onto a belt or scraper conveyor adapted to remove it to the rear.

Both said types of machines do not completely overcome the objectionable operation of associating the gathering of the material with the filling of the trains or lorries. The present invention overcomes the above mentioned objectionable operation'altogether and provides a machine comprising a conveyor which forms alarge-sized accumulator that is loaded during the time required for the changing of trucks or lorries to be filled and an operating material-lifting equipment designed specially to insure the filling of said accumulator under the best conditions.

The complete machine of the present invention may be mounted on a truck or on a Caterpillar, but in either case the lower frame carrying the wheels or the translation-controlling Caterpillar remains stationary during the filling of the accumulator.

The upper part of the machine may be angularly shifted for engaging various parts of th heap of the material to be removed. My invention will be clearly understood through the reading ofgthe following description and examination of accompanying drawings, said description and drawings being obviously given out merely by way of an exemplification. In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the machine in its operative position. I

Fig. 2 is a plan-view thereof.

As in the case of the majority of the conventional shovelsused for surface work, said shovel includes a frame I mounted on a Caterpillar or on wheels, a platform 2 laid on said frame and adapted to pivot about a vertical axis together with a control n 1 echanism.including a motor 3, a transmission with clutches and gears for controlling the various movements, other than the actual shovelling or digging, and lastly a winch, including a plurality of independent drums producing through the agency of cables the required coordinated digging and shovelling movements.

The operating equipment includes chiefly a jib 4 adapted to move about a spindle 5, under the action of the tractional stresses exerted on its head 6 by the cables I, the latter being adapted to be drawn in at any moment by the drum 8 of the winch or released through the agency of the brake carried on said drum.

A shovelling bucket 9, carrying two sectorshaped members [4, is pivotally secured at H to the jib 4. Said bucket is actuated through cables which are attached to stationary points 13 of the bucket at their inner ends and pass over the semi-circular sectors I 4 which are rigidly connected to the actual bucket, said cables being finally wound over the drum [5 of the winch, which may be in clutch Or else braked by the frictional clutch IE or by the brake H. The winding of the cables over the semi-circular sectors allows the operative torque to obtain a constant value.

The spindle 5 about which the jib 4 is movable is rigid with the sides It of a scraper conveyor, which are rigid with the rotary platform 2.

Said conveyor is provided with a conventional scraper-carrying chain I9 that may be actuated at any moment through the friction clutch 20 and through the Cardan joints in transmission 2|. Said transmission may also be performed through chains.

The only particularity of this conveyor consists in that it includes flanges or sides I8 the height of which is sufficiently important for the conveyor as a whole to form an actual accumulator container.

The system including the operative equipment, the conveyor and accumulator device and the driving mechanism, is adapted to rock about a vertical axis A B while the Caterpillar or wheelcarried frame remains stationary.

The bucket may therefore occupy various angular operative positions shown in full lines C D or dotted lines E F (Fig. 2). Said rotation is allowed by reason of the pinion 22 meshing with the sunwheel 23 secured to the frame. The pinion 22 is driven by the motor through the agency of the bevel gears 24 and two friction clutches 21 and 28 selectively.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: the jib 4 being in its lower position, the shovelling bucket 9 is filled as it rotates about its spindle H by reason of the traction exerted on the cables l2 passing over the semi-circular sectors l4.

When the bucket arrives at the upper end of its stroke, it enters the position 9a illustrated in dot and dash lines, the jib being also raised into the position 4a diagrammatically shown in part with the receiving vehicle and'theiscraperichainh on the conveyor allows shifting the materialiinto said vehicle.

During said operation, the digging or picking;

work may be interrupted. It may be of interest to provide two different speeds for the scraper chain of which one correspondsto-tlie filling of the accumulator conveyor while the higher sp ed corresponds to its emptying and further. a rear.- ward progression is also provided to urge back the product that it has not been possible to remove.

The conveyor is not necessarily of the scraper type and'may be a conveyor of the belt, blade or the like type. Similarly the arrangement of the driving members, of the transmission and of the winches is not bound to thatillustrat'ed and may be varied as required. v The control of the Caterpillaror wheel-carried frame is op'erated through theagency of friction clutches 29 and so controlling a bevel gear operating through speed reversing means 3!. allows operation in either direction of the wheel 32'which. is keyed to the transmission shaft passing axially through the vertical pivot in order to control the operating mechanism of the frame through: the agency ofthe' gears 3334.

Obviously and as apparent fromthe preceding disclosure, my invention is by no means limited to'the embodiments disclosedhereinabove nor to the'specific shape of the different parts described. It covers on the contrary all the modifications brought to such arrangements within the'scope of accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a mucking machine for narrow underground galleries, the combination of a wheeled frame adapted to progress over ground, a platform carried by said frame and adapted to pivot thereon round avertical axis, a substantially horizontal elongated large capacity conveyor box restingdirectly on the platform and including highlateral walls and a scraper conveyor moving alon an endless path through the said conveyor box, a prime mover carried by the platform laterally of and outside the conveyor box, a transmission controlled by said prime mover including partslying to either side of the conveyor box and transverse spindles interconnecting the gears to either'side of the conveyor box and extending underneath the latter, gears lying underneath the platform operatively connected with said transmission and controlling the wheeled frame and the angular setting of the platform on the said frame, a gearwork connecting said transmission with the conveyor and extending on one side of the conveyor box to control operation of the scraper conveyor, a jib pivotally secured to the front end of the conveyor box round a transverse axis thereof, a bucket pivotally secured to the front end of the jib through an axis that is parallel to the pivotal axis of the jib with reference This to the conveyor box, winch drums located on the outside of the conveyor box and controlled by the transmission and cables controlled by said winch drums, adapted to control said bucket and jib to move the bucket between .its/ lower.,materia1- engaging position" and a raised position above the forwardly progressing strand of the scraper con- .veyor, the conveyor box forming an accumulator for the material to be removed from the gallery by the bucket and which is to be emptied intermittently-into a vehicle registering with the rear end of the conveyor when the platform assumes a predetermined. angular setting.

2; In a. mucking. machine for narrow underground galleries, the combination of a wheeled frame adapted toprogress over ground, a platform carried by said frame and adapted to pivot thereon round a vertical axis, a substantially horizontal elongated large capacity conveyor box resting directly onthe platform and including higlrl'ateral walls and a scraper conveyor moving along an endless path through the said conveyor box, a prime-mover carried bythe platform laterally of and outside the conveyor box, a transmission controlled by said prime mover including parts lying to either side of the conveyor box'an'd transverse spindles interconnecting the gears to either side of the conveyor box and extending underneath the" latter, gears lying underneath the platform operatively'connected with said transmission and controlling'the wheeled frame and theangular setting of" the platform on said frame, agearwork connecting said transmission with the conveyor and extending on one side of the conveyor-box to control operation of the scraper conveyor selectively at two different forward speeds and at one reverse speed, a jib pivotally secured to the front end of the conveyorbox round atransverse axis thereof, a bucket pivotallysecuredto the front end of the jib through an axis that is parallel to the pivotal axis of the jib with reference to the conveyor box, winch drums l'ocatedon the" outside of the conveyor-box and controlled by the transmission and cables controlled 'by said winch drums adapted to control said bucket and jib to move the bucketbetween its lower material-engaging position and a raised position above the forwardly progressing strand ofthe-scraper conveyor; the conveyor box iorming an accumulator for the material to be removed from the gallery by the bucket and which is to be emptied intermittently into a vehicle registering with the rear end ofthe conveyor when; the platform assumes a predetermined angular setting; 1

PAUL GARNIERI: 7

References; Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,509,646 French Sept. 23, 1924 1,907,373 Turnham- May 2, 1933 1,958,269 Green May 8, 1934 2,086,687 Whitmire i.- July 13, 1937 2,15'77736 Dooley et al May 9, 1939 '2,21.3;6s4' Biedess Sept. 3, 1940 2,279,529 Royle Apr. 14, 1942 2,372,475 Doberstein Mar. 27, 1945 

